Samson's Flow

We were at 10 this year, so drafting 20th means we had quite a bit of improvement, since the first playoff team picks at 21. Except for last year (#19), the Bills haven't drafted outside the top 16 since 2003. :bag:

I think they did a little more when we were with the Indians for a long time. There were quite a few Cleveland fans around here because of that, but with switching around quite a bit the last few years (Indians -> Mets -> Blue Jays) that connection has been lost. Staying with Toronto for multiple years should help to re-establish that connection.

I think he's done a good job so far. We haven't lost a game yet during his tenure. You can't say that about the last few guys.

and now are the AAA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. But I would venture to guess that less than 10% of WNYers care to know who the Bisons are affiliated with, so not sure that matters. :unsure: EDIT: Also after playing with Google Maps some more, it turns out the drive to NYC (6h 15m) is comparable to driving to Philly (6h 11m), Baltimore (6h, 17m), Washington DC (6h 55m) and Boston (6h 57m). And I forgot Detroit at 4h 11m. That makes 11 MLB teams (Blue Jays, Pirates, Indians, Tigers, Reds, Phillies, Yankees, Mets, Orioles, Nationals and Red Sox) within a 7 hour drive from Buffalo. Pretty cool.

No I was just continuing the joke it its painful climax.

"I'm Ron Burgundy?!?"

And I hope you understand that after meeting you, I don't think you would fall into the stereotype I outlined above. So please don't take it as a personal affront. I just don't get how the Yankees can be our 'regional' team when they are 7+ hours away!

When did I say your team buys championships? I have no problem with the economics of sport, and I personally think players should get however much someone is willing to pay you. My hate for the Yankees is twofold: 1) The national media attention is centered on a handful of the teams in the league, primarily east coast major market teams, that it gets annoying hearing about them all the time. #1 culprit of this is the NYY. There are 30 teams in MLB, and I would really like to hear the interesting stories from all of them, not just the ones in New York and Boston. Article analyzing the East Coast bias on the MLB Network: http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-predictable-bias-of-mlb-network/ 2) Not saying this is you guys, but the number of Yankees fans that I have met in WNY who are pompous and tell me I am stupid to be a fan of any other team than the pinstripes is f##### annoying. I can have a reasonable baseball conversation with fans from basically any other team, but with Yankees fans I seem to only get "Yankees rule, you suck, wooo!" type responses. With the added bonus that WNY'ers seem to claim the Yankees as "our" team because they are from NY, even though geographically we are closer to Toronto, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and about the same as Cincinnati. Most of these fans haven't even seen the Yankees live FFS. Basically the Yankees fans I encounter are the baseball equivalent of the Patriots football fans. Past championships and media knob-gobbing have given them an entitled attitude that makes them generally insufferable. See above. No problem with "buying" championships. It doesn't really work anyways. The Dodgers currently have the highest payroll by far and they aren't world beaters. The Yankees won championships on the back of drafted talent in Jeter, Posada, Pettite and Rivera, while adding in key free agents.

Please enlighten me. There's a 0% chance that this story isn't awesome.

Nobody except Yankees fans likes the Yankees. But of course half the world seems to be fans of NYC sports teams so the rest of us get to hear about it incessantly. Exactly. :thumbsup:

Recorder. Chicks dig the recorder. :wub:

Your name is SwampD, so to make a joke I referenced your user name to describe the local weather results. It's like Dad-Joke 101. Jeez. :doh:

But you can't just trade him in a vacuum, there needs to be some other board that wants him in order to make a deal. :nana:

But to PA's point, does that culture extend to periphery guys like the trainer and equipment manager types? Or is it too concentrated on the players/coach to have those other guys make any difference at all? Unless the trainers/equip guys are total or really suck at their job, I don't think they make a meaningful difference to team performance.

To take it a step further, the only way you get really high end defense talent without having to pay them $8MM+/yr is by drafting and developing them in your own organization. We do not yet have enough of an established roster to be pulling the Chicago/Pittsburgh strategy of trading away futures for win now pieces. The only time that makes sense is with an aging star roster that has one or two more shots at the cup, but even then doing that means the lean years afterward are even worse. Keep drafting talent until we know we are contenders on a consistent basis.

Nah, it's just a little swampy around here with all the rain. Get it? Swamp-y? :lol:

But it's Cinco de Mayo and we are having a workplace salsa and guacamole competition. If I could I would eat mexican/tex-mex every day, so this is right in my wheelhouse. Plus 2 hours off of work to fill my belly :flirt:

I like Wide Like Zhitnik, Kassian's Concept and Hurry Kane this year. Although Lehner & Hump is always a dark horse to pull out at the end. :flirt:

I am trying out this strategy where I ignore everything from the Buffalo News. It's been working out great so far. ..i'm a lover, i'm a tramp i'm your mother i'm a sinner i'm a saint...

Glad you got to fill that slot :bag:

This monsoon weather is raining out/ruining all of my outdoor activities this week. We like in freaking Buffalo not the tropical amazon ffs.

You're like Alanis Morissette up in here :thumbsup:

I like sushi. It tastes good to me. I just can't do it for lunch since in order to feel "full" I need to have like 20 pieces and it ends up costing a small fortune. :wallbash:

Once you move to Buffalo we can team up and pull some hijinx on them to help lead to their demise... mwahahaha :devil:

At what point does the Buffalo News see this and then immediately pull their own Pugula level house cleaning of their sports staff. WTF are those guys doing? :unsure: